Ludwig Hoffmann (architect)

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Ludwig Hoffmann
Ludwig Hoffmann
Born
Ludwig Ernst Emil Hoffmann

(1852-07-30)30 July 1852
Darmstadt, Hesse
Died11 November 1932(1932-11-11) (aged 80)
Berlin
NationalityGerman
OccupationArchitect
AwardsHonorary citizen of Berlin

Ludwig Ernst Emil Hoffmann (30 July 1852 – 11 November 1932) was a German architect and was one of the most famous architects of Berlin.

Life and career

Portraits of Hoffmann and Ernst Friedel by Evelyn Hartnick at the Märkisches Museum
Sign on the Ludwig Hoffmann Bridge in Moabit
Altes Stadthaus in Berlin

Ludwig Hoffmann was born in Darmstadt and educated at the Kunstakademie Kassel (Kassel Academy of Art) and the Bauakademie (Academy of Architecture) in Berlin.[1] In 1879, after passing the first state examination, Hoffmann began working for the government of Berlin as a construction foreman under Franz Heinrich Schwechten.[2][3] His architectural career began in 1880 when he and Peter Dybwad, both unknowns, won the competition to design the Supreme Court building in Leipzig against 118 other entries.[4][5][6][7] In 1895, the year it was completed, he returned to Berlin and that June married Marie Weisbach, a banker's daughter.[7][8]

In 1896, Hoffmann became Stadtbaurat—director of urban planning and construction—for Berlin.[6] He served for 28 years until 1924[9] (mandatory retirement age being 72) and is now regarded as the most important holder of the position.[7]

Under his leadership 111 facilities were built, including over 300 buildings. He designed the new administration building for the city of Berlin, now known as the

Berlin Institute of Technology
.

Honors and criticism

In 1906 Ludwig Hoffmann was awarded the title of

Vienna University of Technology.[15] Upon his retirement in 1924 he was awarded honorary citizenship of Berlin.[9] A primary school in Friedrichshain (which he built), a hospital in Pankow, a bridge in Moabit
, and a street in the Sellerhausen section of Leipzig bear his name.

Hoffmann's work was long out of favor for its historicism, but is now recognized as an important part of the effort to accommodate Berlin's rapid growth prior to World War I. As early as 1956, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe admitted he had been wronged.[16]

References

  1. ^ Hoffmann 1983, p. 30.
  2. ^ Reichhardt & Schäche 1986, p. 12.
  3. ^ Hoffmann 1983, p. 55.
  4. ^ Reichhardt & Schäche 1986, p. 116.
  5. ^ Topfstedt 2001, p. 1.
  6. ^ a b c d N. 1904–1926.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Zajonz 2002.
  8. ^ Viergutz 2001, p. 83.
  9. ^ a b Reichhardt & Schäche 1986, p. 61.
  10. ^ Hoffmann & Stahl 1914, pp. viii–xi.
  11. ^ Hoffmann & Stahl 1914, pp. xi–xiii.
  12. ^ Hoffmann 1983, p. 43.
  13. ^ Hoffmann 1983, pp. 154–60.
  14. ^ Dehio, Bollé & Badstübner-Gröger 2000, p. 32.
  15. ^ a b Reichhardt & Schäche 1986, p. 95.
  16. ^ "Ja, ja, der Hoffmann, dem haben wir alle unrecht getan!": quoted in Zajonz (2002)

Bibliography

Further reading

  • Feustel, Jan (1994). Spaziergänge in Friedrichshain. Berlinische Reminiszenzen (in German). Vol. 64. Berlin: Haude & Spener.
    ISBN 978-3-7759-0357-8
    .

External links
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